Discovery Hall

Discovery Hall opened for classes in the fall of 2014. It is home to the UW Bothell School of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The $68 million building accommodates more than 1,000 students and will increase the number of STEM graduates in the Puget Sound region. Discovery Hall is the first building to be constructed on the UW Bothell campus in 10 years.

About Discovery Hall

In order to meet the increasing demand for a capable, educated workforce, the state of Washington must produce an additional 6,000 baccalaureate degrees annually, 2,000 of these from science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Building on its acclaimed Nursing and Computer Science programs, UW Bothell is building out a suite of STEM degrees to meet the ever increasing demands of UW Bothell students and the community the campus serves. The School of STEM now has 14 degree programs; additional baccalaureate degrees in STEM fields are planned.

Current enrollment is more than 4,800 students; buildings on the UW Bothell campus were originally designed to accommodate only 1,800 students.

Building Facts & Figures

74,000 square-foot building which will accommodate 1,000 full-time students

430 classroom seats

11 science laboratories

250 lab seats

200-seat lecture hall.

$62,850,000 construction cost

Energy efficient features:

Building oriented to optimize solar energy efficiency

Displacement ventilation

Recycled materials

Use of active chilled beams in labs for heating and cooling

Use of passive chilled beams in classroom and offices for heating and cooling

The surrounding building and landscaping will include an ADA accessible crescent walkway and will create disability access to the upper campus through thoughtful design.

Building Details

Technology Laboratories and Support Spaces

The technology spaces include both teaching and research laboratories and their support spaces. All technology laboratories and support spaces will be accessible. The technology laboratories and support spaces include an electrical engineering laboratory, software development and GIS laboratory, a Software Development Project Room and GIS project room, a devices laboratory, a motion capture studio, usability studio, technology research laboratories, usability observation rooms, and a control room.

General Academic Spaces

A range of classroom spaces is essential to support the teaching of diverse disciplines within Discovery Hall. Moreover, UW Bothell’s culture of inclusiveness and interactivity, results in a high demand for meeting and gathering spaces. In addition to classes and meetings, the university hosts a wide range of activities including student organized functions, music events, guest speakers, among others, that are underserved by the campus’s current spaces. Discovery Hall includes new teaching and gathering spaces that are flexible enough to serve current and projected future needs.

Student Support Spaces

Discovery Hall includes dedicated spaces to study, lounge, access tutoring, and experience art. These student support spaces, open to the entire UW Bothell campus community, and include a student resource room, Teaching and Learning Center Student Support, art display space, and study alcoves for students.

Site Program

UW Bothell has an active campus community and hosts significant campus events focused on academic program enrichment nearly every day of the year. Discovery Hall will add capacity for such events both inside and outside the building. In addition to expanding capacity, Discovery Hall supports several important aspects of the campus master plan including: establishing an east-west building orientation, expanding much needed pedestrian hardscape through a connecting plaza, a unifying crescent path, and West Campus Lane serving as emergency vehicle access routes and pedestrian paths.

Discovery Hall supports and enhances the current campus landscape character by maintaining natural site drainage patterns that support the existing landscape including a thriving native woodland, and incorporating new native plantings and some native adaptive ornamental plantings.

Faculty and Staff Offices

Discovery Hall includes two departmentally focused offices suites, one for science and one for technology. The offices will likely be located near their respective teaching laboratories on separate floors but may be joined by an internal stair to facilitate collaboration. Each office suite will include faculty, teaching assistants and staff. Research staff will be located near research labs.

Sustainability

Environmental stewardship is an institutional priority and UW Bothell has developed sustainable initiatives for all aspects of the institution including facilities and operations, academic programs, research, student life, and university-community partnerships Examples include a continuing restoration of the thriving 58-acre wetlands, treating stormwater on-site and releasing it to the wetlands, coordinating recycling events with the community, dedicating a transportation coordinator, implementing several energy-saving strategies in existing facilities, purchasing nearly 100 percent green power, supporting a strong campus-wide recycling and composting program, and providing environmental and wetlands-focused programs and research.

UW Bothell is committed to achieving the most sustainable project possible, while delivering the project in concert with overarching project goals and budget. In keeping with the UW Bothell etrepreneurial spirit, the college encourages creative thinking on how to achieve sometimes competing priorities and goals.

As part of the UW Climate Action Plan, the project will assist in reducing UW greenhouse gas emissions to meet or exceed the goals passed by the Washington State Legislature in April of 2009, and achieve the UW’s commitment for climate neutrality by 2050.